Masters Theses

Date of Award

6-1988

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Nuclear Engineering

Major Professor

Robert E. Uhrig

Committee Members

B. R. Upadhyaya, T.W. Kerlin, P. F. Pasqua

Abstract

A signal validation and sensor information expert system has been implemented and tested. The expert system interactively provides the user with a list of sensors used to monitor a subsystem of a power plant and answers the user's questions about the characteristics of those sensors.

The expert system also performs an evaluation of a sensor's current output characteristics. The evaluation is fully automated and is designed to mimic an operator's method of signal validation. The evaluation is designed to detect three types of possible sensor anomalies. 1. Incorrect average output. 2. Improper noise level, and 3. incorrect response to a system perturbation. There are two tests used to detect each possibly anomalous condition. One test is a comparison of the specified sensor characteristic against the same characteristic of its redundant sensors. The second test is a prediction of the sensor's expected behavior and comparison with its observed behavior.

The evaluation was tested using operational data from twelve sensors used to monitor level, pressure, primary and secondary coolant flow rates, and hot and cold leg temperatures of a steam generator in a commercially operating nuclear power plant. The results of the testing successfully demonstrated that the evaluation detected the three possible anomalies that it was designed to, and was able to handle conflicting information from the comparison among redundant sensors and the system specific test used to detect the anomalies.

The software package was written in the computer languages LISP and C, and is implemented on a VAX mainframe computer and a MicroVax workstation

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